September saw the number of residential property transactions in the UK climb by 59.7% from August’s total, according to figures published by HMRC.

The provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate hit 165,720 transactions for the month, a figure that was also 67.3% higher than September 2020.

For non-residential transactions, HMRC revealed that the estimate for September totalled 10,630 property transactions. This figure represented a rise of 17.0% on August, and a 17.8% on September’s figure from last year.

HMRC’s monthly property transactions figures covers properties in the UK with a value of £40,000 or above.

Commenting on the data, Just Mortgages national operations direction, John Phillips, said that as the UK housing market “steadily edges closer to normality”, property transactions are returning to familiar levels.

“There is no doubt that despite demand still desperately outweighing supply, the desire to move has not wilted for prospective buyers,” he commented. “Particularly those looking for larger homes as hybrid working models are adopted widely across the country and people seek office space at home. Buyers who find themselves in frenzied waters right now are – rightly so – making the most of low borrowing rates.

“As we look forward to the rest of 2021, it is safe to say that the number of buyers is not set to drop as people race to buy property before we see possible increases in interest rates.”

more2life corporate marketing director, Stuart Wilson, added that HMRC’s figures are “no surprise”, given the activity witnessed in the run up to the conclusion of the stamp duty holiday.

“The holiday itself has been a resounding success, helping not only countless first-time buyers and second-steppers to move up the housing ladder, but also enabling silver spenders and last-time buyers to downsize, find more accessible housing, or move closer to family and friends,” Wilson said.

“While the first-time buyer market was arguably the most buoyant, the stamp duty holiday encouraged more older borrowers to consider their options and we saw the tax break driving a 116% year on year increase in the number of people using equity release for property purchase at more2life alone.

“This increase in borrowers using lifetime mortgages to fund purchase activity has been sustained even after the stamp duty holiday concluded at the end of September, suggesting that it was instrumental in driving awareness around this under-used benefit of lifetime mortgages. This is but one of its many healthy legacies.”

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